Return of the boss.

Soo we said a bunch more goodbyes this week… Rach left Wednesday night, Adrian left Thursday night and Tiffany moved out on Thursday. The house is so empty it almost echoes… Why does everything have to happen at the same time?!!
Adrian is off to language school in Peru, then to Quito to work with a youth ministry there with IT, then off to explore a million other countries. He was a fantastic brother, we were all very grateful for his kindness, and super funny sense of humor. He was also a good baker, he enjoyed treating us girls to dinner and dessert often. In fact the day after he left Jen, Katie S. and I decided to go on a sweets fast since we have gotten so used to having sweets around all the time. I feel healthier already!!
I got my plane ticket to come home--December 16th is the lucky day!! (That day also happens to be my Mom’s birthday, I hope I’m a good present!  ) That gives me four more months here. Whew! That doesn’t sound like very much, but there are days when it feels like an eternity!
On Saturday we did a “Hygiene Day” with the kids at Villa Israel. A bunch of the kids have not been there very long, and usually come from poorer neighborhoods or the Campo (countryside), therefore cleanliness is not something they’ve grown up with. Kim did a puppet show and Aldo the psychologist talked about the importance of being clean outside, but also inside—having a clean conscience, asking forgiveness for wrongs, etc. We also brought some liquid soap (Aldo told Roberto that when he got a bit older the girls would like that he had clean, good smelling hands!), stools for the littler ones to reach the sink and toothpaste and toothbrushes. I was shocked by how excited the kids were!! Brandon ran up behind Kim and gave her a really big hug and thanked her, sometimes it’s the littlest things that get kids excited! It’s really sweet to see the older kids there interact with the little ones. They’re so protective and gentle. It makes me really happy, and kinda proud too, not that I taught them that, but that I get to work with such sweethearts!!
The Timmers come back next week. From what I’ve heard they’ve had a good time visiting supporters, hanging out as a family, and reuniting with old friends. They did get to go see a bunch of people from Bedford (you may recall that we had an AMAZING team from Bedford a few months back, they’re also sending another team this fall…can’t wait!).
Well, that’s about it for now…have a fantastic day! I hope to put up some more pictures this week…so keep checking the foto site (go to my complete profile and there will be a link to it.)
God bless!
Kristen